Scott Mullen (Image: Gwent Police)
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A registered sex offender who amassed a collection of child abuse material and then attempted to deceive the court with a fabricated report has been given an eight-year extended sentence.
Scott Mullen, 32, of Swallow Way, Duffryn, Newport, was told by Judge Geraint Walters at Swansea Crown Court that he posed a high risk of further serious offending.
Bogus report
Mullen had initially admitted downloading 136 indecent films and photographs of children – but then applied to withdraw his guilty pleas.
Representing himself, he produced a letter bearing the logo of a legitimate digital and cyber investigations firm, claiming the company had suggested he may not have downloaded the material deliberately and could be innocent.
The deception was quickly exposed. Mullen pleaded guilty last June to committing an act with intent to pervert the course of justice.
The offending
Prosecutor Joshua Scouller told the court Mullen had been found with a childlike sex doll alongside the abuse material.
The images and videos were accumulated between July 14, 2024 and August 18, 2024. Of the 136 files, 23 were classified at category A – the most serious level – with 18 at category B and 95 at category C.
Mullen already had a previous conviction for possessing indecent images of children, for which he received a community order in 2017.
Sentencing
The judge told Mullen: “These are real children being abused by sick adults.”
He described the pre-sentence report as making “depressing reading” and said it reached “the inevitable conclusion that you are a dangerous offender and that you present a high risk of committing further serious offences.”
The judge characterised the attempt to mislead the court as “planned and sophisticated”.
Defence barrister Jon Tarrant said in mitigation: “The defendant does accept that there are issues here.”
Mullen was jailed for three years with an extended licence period of five years following his release. He must register as a sex offender for life and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for life.
